Cicognini, Alessandro

(1906-1995)

   Trained at the Conservatory of Milan and with an established reputation as a classical composer, Cicognini began working in the cinema in the mid-1930s, his first score being for Amleto Palermi's Il corsaro nero (The Black Corsair, 1937). He subsequently scored all of Alessandro Blasetti's films from Ettore Fieramosca (1938) to Quattro passi fra le nuvole (A Stroll through the Clouds, 1942), as well as Augusto Genina's Castelli in aria (Castles in the Air, 1939) and Mario Camerini's I grandi magazzini (Department Store, 1939). In the immediate post-war period he established a particularly strong association with Vittorio De Sica, composing the music for all of De Sica's major films from the Oscar-nominated Sciuscia (Shoe-Shine, 1946) to Il tetto (The Roof, 1956), distinguishing himself especially with the score for Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves, 1948), which brought him the award of a Nastro d'argento.

   Versatile and wide ranging, he also collaborated with Julien Duvivier on Il piccolo mondo di Don Camillo (The Little World of Don Camillo, 1952) and Il ritorno di Don Camillo (The Return of Don Camillo, 1953), with Camerini again on several films, including the big-budget mythological epic Ulisse (Ulysses, 1954) and most successfully perhaps on Luigi Comencini's enormously popular Pane, amore e fantasia (Bread, Love and Dreams, 1953). He also worked with several international directors, notably with David Lean on Summertime (1955) and Michael Curtiz on A Breath of Scandal (1960) before retiring from composing for film in the early 1960s.

   Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema by Alberto Mira